I think this can decide the trend for a few hours.

And just after I posted this - btcchina is back up.

How long did it take? I am now waiting over a week now and no reply to my ticket on Bitcurex (and now I cannot even create another ticket - always getting an unspecified error).

This is becoming another trollbox (like the one at btc-e - it makes me laugh aloud). That said I do think it will correct quite a bit today - Bitstamp fuel is out - time to correct.

At the Bitcoinica times when all Bitcoinica USD reserves at MtGox were used the rallies stopped - because there was no way to buy then. This was the famous starfish phenomenon. But at Bitfinex people still can buy - but only from offers internal to Bitfinex - this blows the price even more, because suddenly there are less bitcoins available (the ones at Bitstamp become out of reach). I think this was the reason of the strange Bitstamp rally today.

Bumping the thread as a warning to new Bitcurex users - at this stage it looks more and more probable that they were hacked.

I have some PPC - I am not really convinced on their implementation of proof of stake, but it is the only fundamental alternative to the bitcoin proof of work system. Litecoin used to be advertised as a coin that will not have ASIC miners - but looks like soon it will have http://www.coindesk.com/asic-miners-litecoin-soon/. All other coins are just copycats.

I've sent 10BTC to the deposit address from my account (and it is current one not an old one) on Monday - it is in blockexplorer and someone transferred the funds already to some other address, my account was never credited.

Here is a screenshot of my account page: - as you can see the deposit address is 1G4qncX621ZfJmQumAKLp35Hnd7JKBeVhw. Blockexplorer reports (http://blockexplorer.com/address/1G4qncX621ZfJmQumAKLp35Hnd7JKBeVhw) that my transaction to this account was registered on Monday at 10:09PM - and then someone transferred the funds to some other address at 3:50AM next day. My account was never credited with the sum.

No answer to the ticket I created on Tuesday (https://digital-future.it/support/view.php?id=7187).

On Monday I tried to do some arbitrage via bitcurex (the price in PLN was also quite a bit higher than the one in USD on bitstamp) - but so far it looks like I lost my 10BTC - bitcurex has not yet credited my account yet, does not reply to support tickets, and then I found other reports of similar events on a Polish forum.

Right now it has arbitrage opportunity in itself - buy at 720, sell 721

But back to the subject - wedges, wedges everywhere. The pattern on the exchanges looked different and suddenly on all 4 of the main ones the bounce back looks like a wedge.

Just one thought. For the  BTC price movement in different timeframes it can have different meanings.

There is no other way for bitcoin to become a currency - it needs to grow very very much and that means volatility.

Copied from: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=337751.0

Quite positive - what you think?

U.S. Agencies Tell Senate Bitcoins Offer Legitimate Benefits
2013-11-18 05:01:00.13 GMT


By Max Raskin
     Nov. 18 (Bloomberg) -- The Department of Justice and
Securities and Exchange Commission are telling a U.S. Senate
committee that Bitcoins are legitimate financial instruments,
boosting prospects for wider acceptance of the virtual currency.
     Representatives from the agencies told the U.S. Senate
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs ahead of
a hearing today that the digital money offers benefits and
carries risks, like any other online-payment system, according
to letters they released before the meeting.
     The committee scheduled the hearing “to explore potential
promises and risks related to virtual currency for the federal
government and society at large” after the Silk Road Hidden
Website was shut down in October. The closing of the
marketplace, where people could obtain drugs, guns and other
illicit goods using Bitcoins, is helping fuel a rally in the
virtual currency as speculators bet that the digital money will
gain more mainstream acceptance.
     “The FBI’s approach to virtual currencies is guided by a
recognition that online payment systems, both centralized and
decentralized, offer legitimate financial services,” Peter
Kadzik, principal deputy assistant attorney general, wrote in a
letter yesterday. “Like any financial service, virtual currency
system of either type can be exploited by malicious actors, but
centralized and decentralized online payment systems can vary
significantly in the types and degrees of illicit financial risk
they pose.”

                          Virtual Money

     Introduced in 2008 by a programmer or group of programmers
going under the name of Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin is being used
to pay for everything from gourmet coffee to smartphones on the
Internet. There are almost 12 million Bitcoins in circulation,
according to Bitcoincharts, a website that tracks activity
across various exchanges.
     Bitcoins were trading for $460 apiece yesterday on
Bitstamp, one of the more active online exchanges, where the
digital money is traded for dollars, euros and other currencies.
The virtual currency reached a record of $473 yesterday, and is
up more than 30-fold so far this year.
     “Two years ago it was alarm when Silk Road first came on
the scene,” said Jerry Brito, senior research fellow at the
Mercatus Center at George Mason University who is also
testifying in front of the committee today. “Since then,
Congress has been educating itself and understands that there
are great potential benefits, and like any new technology there
are going to be some challenges. But they see there is a balance
to be struck here and they are generally positive on the
technology.”

                       Gaining Acceptance

     Since the virtual currency exists as software that’s
designed to be untraceable, it’s an attractive tender for those
seeking to transact anonymously via the Web. While the closing
of Silk Road initially caused the digital money to lose a third
of its value within days, Bitcoins have recovered and rallied to
record levels as speculators and investors bet that the currency
will be less of a fad and gain more mainstream acceptance.
     Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, is also
weighing in on the hearing, saying that it has no plans to
regulate the currency.
     “Although the Federal Reserve generally monitors
developments in virtual currencies and other payments system
innovations, it does not necessarily have authority to directly
supervise or regulate these innovations or the entities that
provide them to the market,” Bernanke wrote in a letter to the
committee.
     The hearings will bolster the view that Bitcoins are an
acceptable alternate means of conducting transactions, and that
their use will grow, said Brito.
     “These hearings means Bitcoin is finally coming into its
own; it’s a real thing and it’s not going anywhere and these
hearings highlight that,” he said.

For Related News and Information:
Bitcoin at Record as U.S. Senate Seeks to Discuss Virtual Money
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Bitcoin Climbs to Record on Wider Acceptance, China Trading
FIFW NSN MVV8CQ6K50YT <GO>
Bitcoin Mining Rush Means Real Cash for Makers of Hardware: Tech
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Top Technology Stories:TTOP<GO>

--Editors: Reed Stevenson, Kevin Miller

To contact the reporter on this story:
Max Raskin in New York at +1-212-617-0443 or
mraskin5@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Pui-Wing Tam at +1-415-617-7327 or
ptam13@bloomberg.net

There is a big discussion on what bitcoin really is - is it money, is it commodity or maybe a security? But technically paying a bitcoin is a service you do - it is signing a transaction with your private key.

How does that square with the legalities?

There is a theory that there is a trend channel on the log chart. The upper border is here:


 and we are just about to break it.

I remember 2011 on the way down there was a similar trend line on the log chart but from the bottom and some people believed it was important one and the price broke it down with ease.

Close in time - but not necessarily in price - the last jump can be pretty high.

My recent fuckup - forgetting about a limit sell order.

On btcchina there was no wedge.

You forgot about dividends.

Parabolic is OK, even exponential is OK - hyperbolic is what you need to fear.

2 months ago I have withdrawn money from Bitstamp (a mistake I know).  They requested that I provide a scan of my passport and I delivered it. Now I sent the money back to Bitstamp - and after a week of waiting for it to arrive I've created a ticket - the answer was that yes they received my money but because of KYC rules they want a scan of my passport again. I don't know what I should provide them now - and the money can already buy a 1/3 less of bitcoins.

Just reporting.